Lady Luck
by sarcasmqueen66
Summary: Jennifer Keller's off world luck still hasn't improved, she's trapped again. Is Ronon going to come to her rescue? Ronon/Keller ship! Now COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Doctor Jennifer Keller sighed, she knew she had bad luck off world but this was just plain irritating

Chapter 1

Doctor Jennifer Keller sighed. She knew she had bad luck off world, but this was just plain irritating. The mission had started off simple, as they all normally did, only to get a hell of a lot more complex. But this? This was just weird.

She looked around at Major Lorne's team. She was off world with them because Colonel Carter felt she needed more off world experience and figured that because this was a simple 'meet and greet' recon mission it would be the perfect way to get that practice.

But as usual Jennifer's off world bad luck had struck again, and now she stood looking at the space where the gate once stood. It was now buried under rubble from a landslide.

The planet was beautiful, or so that had been her first thought as she stepped through the gate. Lush green hills and forests ahead of them with small lakes and streams spreading down into the valley below where the stargate was situated. Behind the stargate was a vast mountain range. The tops of which barely visible due to an eerie cloud covering and snow capped peaks. The sky was about the most brilliant blue imaginable and the two suns high in sky shone down perfect sunlight. The sounds of birds and other wildlife filled the air, and the scent of the fresh air filled Jens nose. It was so tranquil that even the large portentous mountains behind where forgotten.

The team had set off following a well-walked foot path down into the valley, hoping it led to the local town or village. After about ten minutes of walking it came into view. It was much like the settlement of Teyla's people, the Athosian's, mused Jennifer. The camp was made up of tents and simple wooden huts, people milled around, some chatting, others working. The camp was only large enough for about two hundred people or so, guessed Jennifer.

For the most part, the villagers took no notice of the newcomers. Still, some came and greeted them. Jennifer watched in interest as Lorne began talking with the leader of the camp. He politely introduced himself and the rest of the team to them and informed them of their wishes to trade.

Then the negotiations had begun, discussing who had what of value for who and whether trade was possible.

Eventually the doctor in Keller took over, and she found herself watching all the natives going about their business. She looked for signs of disease ill health or injuries, satisfied to find that they looked pretty much healthy.

It was just as they where leaving the camp, negotiations completed for some weird plant Teyla suggested, that the ground shook vigorously, and a thunderous noise filled the air. The entire village froze. Some screamed 'WRAITH!' others ran inside their tents. But within seconds the noise had gone and dust began to fill the air.

"What the hell was that?" yelled Lorne to nobody in particular.

Keller looked towards the direction of the gate, the same direction all the dust was coming from.

"Major," she yelled, coughing from the dust. Lorne turned to her. "Its coming form the direction of the gate." When she received a blank look, she waved her arms at the dust filled air and said "The dust!"

"We need to head back to the gate and find out what the hell happened" he said and started walking.

"Breath shallow and slow." Said Keller, "We don't know what's in this dust."

They walked slowly back down the path, no one speaking but casting worried glances at each other every so often. No one was saying it but everyone was thinking it: If something happened to the gate, how would they get home?

Jennifer's breath caught in her throat as she saw where the gate had stood only hours before. Now there was just rubble.

"Landslide" said one of Lorne's team needlessly.

_It must have come off the side of the mountain,_ thought Jennifer.

Suddenly a slight movement caught her eye. Moving close to the rubble, she could clearly see a human hand sticking out.

"MAJOR!" she yelled, and he came running along with the rest of his team. "There's someone trapped. We need to get them out" she said as she was already pulling her medical kit off her back.

Ronon and Teyla fought furiously as they trained. Neither one seeming to have the upper hand, until Teyla slammed a bantos stick straight into Ronon chest knocking him to the floor.

John who sat watching laughed and said, "Hey there buddy she's seriously kicking your ass today. What's the matter? Why are you so off your game?"

"No reason," came Ronon's gruff reply.

He stood and nodded to Teyla and started again whirling round each other at lightning speed.

"I know why you are so…distracted," said Teyla. "You should stop worrying; she'll be fine."

She continued and with a swift, well-placed kick Ronon was on his back again.

"You're wrong," he said in his gruff voice again, this time sounding slightly out of breath.

"I do not think so," said Teyla, putting her sticks down and moving towards. They put there heads together in a gesture that ended their training session.

"What are you talking about?" asked John in confusion.

"Ronon is worried for Doctor Keller," Teyla said innocently.

Ronon snapped and said "and I should be. Her track record is not good, plus she was due back ten minutes ago." He didn't say that he had told the control room to let him know as soon as Major Lorne's team got back

"They might just be late," said Colonel Sheppard unconvincingly. Ronon just gave him a look and Sheppard stood up and said, "Let's head to the control room."

When they arrived Colonel Carter was already standing there with the gate technician. They talking quietly, exchanging worried glances.

"Is Major Lorne's team back, Colonel?" Sheppard asked.

She turned to face the newly arrived group. "No there not we were just about to dial them and see what the hold up is."

John nodded and the group turned to the stargate as it began dialling. As the seventh chevron locked in place Ronon felt uneasy. Something wasn't right, and he knew it. The gate, however, did not jump into life like normal. Instead it just froze on the seventh chevron.

"Crap," said John, as Ronon gave Teyla an 'I told you so' look.

TBC

A/N: So I wasn't planning another fic so soon but this idea just came to me and I had to get it down. Let me know what you think! And a huge Thank-you for the beta – Renisanz who is a very good beta!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"The gate must be blocked, possibly buried. We've seen it before," said Colonel Carter.

Sheppard's expression grew even more worried, "Like on Teranus with the super volcano when it buried the gate."

Carter nodded and she was just about to continue when Rodney McKay strode in.

"I might tell you that I am a very busy man. Constantly in demand..." he started. Teyla just rolled her eyes, Ronon looked annoyed and McKay received pointed looks from Sam and John, which finally shut him up.

Getting the message, he huffed, "What do you need me for?"

"Majors Lorne's team missed their check-in, and the gate won't connect. We think it may have been buried or something. I want to know how long it will take to get there by jumper?" John explained.

"Otherwise we will have to wait for the Daedalus and that isn't due back for another week," Carter added.

"Hang on. It will just take a moment," McKay said as he was moving to a computer. He shoved the gate technician sitting there out of the way, sat down, and began typing.

A minute passed by and everyone was silent apart from McKay who rambled away to himself.

"Got it!" he yelled. "It's a 16 hour trip by jumper," he announced.

Immediately John looked to Carter, giving her a questioning look.

"Go! Take an extra jumper with you, just in case." He nodded to her and left the room at a jog, the rest of his team hot on his heels.

Jennifer Keller couldn't believe how unlucky she was, she was trapped off world with a serious casualty being crushed by rocks , with minimal medical supplies.

The doctor within Keller instinctively kicked in though, when she reached the hand and felt for a pulse. "Major, there's a pulse. It's erratic, but there. We need to get them out of here!" she said to Evan Lorne who was at her side. He nodded and sent two of his team back to the village for help while he and the remaining member started pulling rocks off.

"WAIT!" Keller yelled, halting them in their tracks. "We need to do this carefully to avoid injuring him further. Try to clear the area around first."

Lorne nodded and they continued, more carefully this time.

Keller opened her pack and pulled out all the medical supplies she had brought. Before they had left for the mission, she had been told to leave most of the stuff she had packed behind. Now she wished she had stood her ground. She was carrying little more than a basic first aid pack.

"Crap," she muttered.

Loud footsteps behind her signaled Major Lorne's team arriving with the villagers arriving to help.

Checking the wrist every so often for a pulse Jennifer helped as best she could by pulling the rocks away. She paused after checking the pulse and looked at the hand properly for the first time. It was small, delicate.

"Oh my god," she breathed. The hand was not of an adult but of a child.

While more rocks where cleared she tried talking to the trapped person. She didn't know if they where conscious or not, but she thought it was best. If they were conscious they would be very scared.

"Hello can you hear me?" she yelled through the rocks. Gently she enclosed the child's hand in hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

The hand reacted in hers, squeezing back. Surprised, she looked down at the hand. "If you can hear me squeeze my hand," she said and waited.

Then she felt the hand gently squeezed her hand. Smiling slightly, she began talking.

"My name is Doctor Jennifer Keller; you can call me Jen though. There are people digging you out right now. You are going to be ok, and they will have you out soon enough," she said in a positive voice.

"Now I'm going to say different parts of your body, and when I say one where it hurts squeeze my hand. If you understand squeeze my hand, ok."

She waited again, and there it was—the squeeze of the hand.

"Ok here we go…Head..."

Nothing.

"…neck…"

Nothing.

"…chest…"

A squeeze. Jennifer paused making a mental note.

"Ok, arms…"

Squeeze, she paused again.

"Legs?"

Another squeeze.

_This is not good,_ thought Keller.

"Doc?"

Jennifer turned to look at Lorne; he was stood in front of her. Dirt was smeared all over his face and uniform.

"Hmm?" she said.

"It looks pretty bad. We've cleared everything from round him but there are some pretty big pieces actually on top of him. I want you to look see if we can take them off with out injuring him further?" he said, keeping his voice low, well aware that the child could probably hear him.

In the jumper, Sheppard ordered the other jumper to follow their lead as they made their way to the planet Major Lorne's team and Dr. Keller were on. Next to him was Rodney, who working on away of increasing the sensor range to see if they could pick up any ideas about what might have happened to cause the Gate to malfunction. Teyla sat behind Sheppard, while Ronon sat in the back of the jumper, twirling his gun round and round, while giving the wall in front of him a glare.

Teyla turned in her seat, and noticing Ronon's restlessness she moved to sit next to Ronon. She also stared at a random spot on the wall, casting glances in his direction every so often.

"What?" said Ronon after a couple of minutes.

"I just wanted to say that she will be fine. Major Lorne and his team will protect her," said Teyla in her calm and soothing voice.

Ronon merely grunted in response.

Keller's stomach convulsed involuntarily when she saw the state of the young boys arms and legs, there was cuts and pieces of debris puncturing his skin. On his chest was a large slab of rock. They where still, however, trying to uncover his head.

Leaning in close she looked at the area of his body around the rock. "We need to get this off him quickly and get him onto some flat ground where I can treat him."

Lorne nodded and he and his team finished clearing the boys head. Jennifer smiled down at the boy. "You're gonna be fine," she said, pulling out her one and only shot of morphine. "This is gonna help with pain," continued Jennifer as she swiftly injected the young boy.

"Doc, we're ready" said Lorne, his nervousness not escaping his voice.

Keller nodded and moved to assist.

"Ok on my count," she said. "After three."

"One…two…."

TBC

A/N: WOW you guys are AMAZING I have to tell you when I saw how many reviews I had I was so excited! So I hope this chapter was good enough for you all and I would love more reviews! Thank you for reading! And a huge thanks to Renisanz for betaing!


	3. Chapter 3

Reaching up and wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, Jennifer Keller stifled a groan

Chapter 3

Reaching up and wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, Jennifer Keller stifled a groan. They had lifted the boy from his trapped position. He now lay a safe distance away on the ground. Even though Jen had realised he would be a child, she was shocked at how young he was as she looked over his features. With dark brown hair, an innocent face set in a pained expression, he looked approximately seven years in age. He had become unconscious as they lifted him, and this worried Jennifer as she checked his injuries.

Starting at the his head she gently ran her hands down his body, feeling for breaks, dislocations, swelling and open wounds. She grimaced as she felt the area around his ribs; an odd lump signified what could be a serious problem. After pulling the boy's shredded top away, Jen gasped. The lump she had felt was a rib sticking out of the skin.

"Major!" she shouted to the nearby Evan Lorne. "I need your help over here."

Nodding, he quickly made his way over. "Where do you need me?" he asked.

Jen swiftly inserted an IV into the boy and thrust a saline drip into the major's hand "Hold this up and squeeze it through quickly." Then to herself added "at least I didn't unpack these."

"I need to pack the area around this…" she said looking at the protruding rib.

Lieutenant!" she called over another member of Lorne's team. "Empty all the med kits you and your team are carrying I need all the bandaging you have." She turned her attention back to the boy, carrying on her checks for injuries. She found that the only other injury he had, besides cuts and bruises, was a fractured femur. She just hoped there was no internal bleeding.

"Doc?" the lieutenant called, handing her an armful of bandaging. Quickly she went through it and chose what she needed, and went to bandaging around the protruding rib, being careful not to put any pressure on it.

"Is he…Is he gonna be ok doc?" Evan asked tentatively.

"I honestly don't know. This compound fracture is not good, but the only other injury is a fractured leg. We just need to hope there is no internal bleeding and rescue arrives soon. But I am worried about crush syndrome. That's why I need as much fluid in as quickly as possible. If the body has started releasing myoglobin then there's not much we can do here."

"Myoglobin?" Evan asked worry framing his face.

"When a person has crush injuries, after a certain amount of time the body starts releasing toxins into the blood stream. It can cause heart problems and kidney failure. The fluids will help though…I'm going to put another line in." she said attaching another bag of saline to the boy, and then calling the lieutenant back over to push the fluids through.

Jennifer wiped sweat from her face again and then checked the boy's vitals again.

"Doc? Why do you have saline with you. It's not part of a basic med kit?" the lieutenant asked quietly.

Jennifer shrugged, "I like to have everything with me just in case. They, Colonel's Sheppard and Carter that is, stopped me from bringing most of my gear but I sneaked this in. You never know when you might need it."

She then got to work on putting a splint on his leg and cleaning his wounds.

A couple of hours later it started to get dark, so the carefully transported the boy to the village, where they were given a tent to care for him.

Major Lorne insisted on everyone getting some sleep, so they took turns watching over the boy.

Major Lorne took the first watch. He had to order Jennifer to get some rest even though she had admitted there was nothing else she could do.

Jennifer slept in turns for the rest of the night with Lorne's team.

The next morning Keller was awakened by a worried Major Lorne.

"Doc? Doc? Wake up!"

"What…what is it?" she mumbled sleepily.

"It's the boy he doesn't look good." Lorne answered.

Immediately Jennifer was up and moving over to where the boy lay.

"His skin feels clammy." Lorne said.

Jen felt his forehead which felt cold and clammy; the boy's skin also looked a lot paler than before. She felt for his pulse, "Crap" she said, it was weak but rapid. "He's going into hypovolaemic shock, he must have internal bleeding – he's loosing too much blood."

"What can we do?" asked Lorne.

Jennifer ran a hand through her hair.

"What can we do?" Lorne repeated.

"Besides getting him in to a clean operating theatre, he needs blood, antibiotics and some fluids, better than saline though." She said quietly.

"But we don't have anything else."

"I know " she said even quieter.

Lorne nodded and went to round up the rest of his team.

While Lorne was gone she just sat looking at the boy, fighting to stop her emotions taking over. This boy needed her, and she wouldn't allow her emotions in her way. She wished so much though, that she was back in Atlantis, surrounded by the technology to help him. Not on this planet with nothing more than a basic first aid kit.

A little while later Lorne and his team came back, grim expressions on their faces.

"Where are his parents, his family?" asked Keller with an unsure look.

"There aren't any. Here anyway. Apparently he's not from round here."

"Maybe another village?" suggested Keller unwilling to believe the child had no-one.

Lorne grimaced and shook his head, "There are no others on this planet. This settlement, these people, is all there is. Yesterday when we had gotten him out we checked with everyone they all said they had never seen him before."

Jennifer leant back as she took this in. _Where is his family and how is did he get here…oh no…_ "Major! What if there are more people trapped?"

Lorne shook his head again. "We used the life signs detector and some of the men from the village have been searching all night just in case. There's no one else, the boy was alone."

Jennifer nodded and turned back to her patient.

Suddenly their radios crackled in to life. "Major Lorne come in this is Colonel Sheppard."

"Good to hear from you sir" Lorne replied unable to keep the smile form his face.

"We're ten minutes out. Meet us just outside the village."

"Yes sir."

Lorne left the Lieutenant with Keller and went to meet Colonel Sheppard, with Sergeant Banks.

TBC

A/N: Ok so that was chapter 3 I hope you all liked! Again thank you so much for the reviews it means so much to me! A bid thanks should go to Renisanz also for fantastic betaing!

The next chapter probably wont be up till next week but if I get lots and lots of reviews I might find time sooner.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Doctor Keller waited while Lorne met the Colonel. Even though her outside persona indicated that she was calm and collected, inside she was at breaking point. Guilt wracked through her. She was a doctor, and she should be able to do something to help this young boy. She looked down at the boy's fragile form. If she didn't get him back to Atlantis soon, she was going to loose him.

Voices caused Keller to look up, and she saw Sheppard and his team arriving. Sheppard walked straight to Jennifer.

"Doc, how's he doing?" he asked while taking in the sight of the small boy.

"Not good. He's got internal bleeding, but I can't tell how bad it is until I can get back to Atlantis. He also has a compound rib fracture and a fractured femur. Not to mention the possibility of crush syndrome," she replied, her eyes never quite meeting Sheppard's.

"Lets get him to the jumper then," ordered Sheppard and gently he, Major Lorne, Lieutenant Harrison and Major Banks lifted the boy onto a stretcher they had brought from the jumper and began moving him to it.

Rodney and Teyla led the way, while Jennifer trailed along behind. Ronon moved to her side.

"Are you ok?" he asked quietly so that his voice was not much more than a gruff growl.

Jennifer nodded, "I just want to get back to Atlantis so I can help this poor boy."

She took a deep calming breath. She knew she was getting emotionally involved in this case, and she knew she shouldn't.

Noticing the cracks in her well-built armour, Ronon lent over and gave her hand a quick squeeze, giving her a small smile before returning to walking next to her in silence.

When they reached the jumper, they all crammed in, placing the boy on the floor between the seats. John sat in the pilot's seat and in no time they were on the way back, all of them knowing that every second counted.

Jennifer sat next to the boy Ronon and Teyla both hovering willing to offer any help. After checking the boy's vitals and finding them a little more stable, she lifted his top to check his ribs again.

The bandaging around the rib was now blood-soaked. Sighing quietly to herself, she asked Ronon to try to find any additional bandaging and asked Teyla to get anything that might be useful out of the med kits. While they searched Jen started gently removing the bandaging around the rib.

A huge grin filled Jen's face when she saw her medical bags, that Teyla had found,

"Colonel Sheppard thought that because of your previous luck off world he better bring this, you know, 'just in case.'" Said Teyla

"I need these so much. This is great," said Jen, already pulling things out, firstly cleaning the wound.

She had just started putting the fresh bandaging around the rib when a flicker of movement caught her eye. She looked over towards the boy's hand, slowly the fingers moving slightly.

"Ronon," she said as she tapped him on the shoulder he turned to face her, talking in low voice she said, "It looks like he's waking up. It probably won't be for long though. He might panic, and I can't afford for him to move."

Ronon nodded his understanding and moved towards the child's shoulders preparing to hold him if necessary.

Slowly the boy's eyes flickered open, confusion registered in his frightened eyes. Jen lay a comforting hand on his arm. "I'm Doctor Jennifer Keller, and this is my friend, Ronon. You got hurt. Do you remember?" her voice was soft and comforting.

The boy's wide eyes looked at her, and he nodded slowly, "Ok well, we're taking you to our home to help you, ok? And we'll make you feel loads better. I know you're in pain, but you've got to stay with me and Ronon, ok?" she waited for his nod. "Good," she continued, "Now what's your name?" But she didn't get an answer. He was trying to sit up, panic filling his eyes.

"Hey you're ok!" Ronon said holding him still, "You need to stay still as possible so the Doc look after you and make feel better." The boy began to calm down.

Jen shot Ronon a surprised glance; she had not expected him to speak so calmingly to the young boy. But before anything could be said Ronon began talking quietly into the boy's ear so that Jen couldn't hear.

A few minutes later though the boy lapsed back into his unconscious state and Jennifer finished applying fresh bandages around the rib.

Then she went back to hunting through her medical bags. She pulled out a syringe and swiftly prepped and inserted it in to the boys arm.

Ronon watched her, then asked "What's that?"

"A broad spectrum antibiotic. Hopefully it will stave off infection until we get to Atlantis." She answered while she attached another saline drip to the boy before handing it to Ronon and instructing him on how to squeeze it through.

The rest of the long journey to Atlantis passed with out another hitch; Jennifer managed to get a few hours rest. As soon as they where in contact range of Atlantis she was relaying her orders to the infirmary staff, so time was cut to a minimum.

As the door to the back of the jumper opened, Jennifer was glad to see the trolley and her best staff waiting for her. Quickly, they loaded the boy onto the trolley and within seconds and where heading towards the infirmary.

From the observation area Colonel Carter, Sheppard and his team and Major Lorne and his team all watched as Keller and her team operated on the young boy. They had already been at it a few hours, but no-one wanted to leave. Tiredness aches and pains where all left at the door. All that mattered was that this little boy pulled through.

Machines suddenly started beeping, and the room below them erupted into organised chaos.

Sheppard echoed everyone's thoughts with one word "Crap!"

TBC

A/N: Ok apologies that this took longer than usual and apologies for the cliff hanger but I love them ;)

I hope you all liked this and a huge thanks to my brilliant beta and to all you people who have reviewed, I'm shocked at how many I have but I want more now! So please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Time seemed to stand still for those waiting in the observation room, each one hoping and praying for a good outcome. All watched, unable to look away from the scene below them. Minutes passed, though it felt more like hours, and eventually relative calm was restored . The boy was stable, for now. Ronon let out the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding in, feeling relieved.

Another hour or so went by and Jennifer had finished. The boy was being wheeled out of the room while Jen watched, letting a small wave of tiredness hit her, before clearing the fogginess it brought from her head. She looked to the observation area and gave a small smile to everyone who was up there before heading after her medical team.

Jennifer left the boy in the care of the head nurse, Marie, instructing them to give her updates on his condition in fifteen minute intervals. As soon as she had sat down in her office her door opened. In walked Colonels Carter and Sheppard. She could see Major Lorne and his team and Teyla, Rodney, and Ronon outside, all waiting for updates on the status of the boy.

Refraining from sighing, she gave a small smile and said to the Colonels, "You might as well let them in here, save me from repeating myself."

Sheppard looked to Carter and on receiving a nod, opened the door and let the rest of them in.

When everyone had made themselves comfortable Jen began, "He's got a broken femur, which is a clean break so that just needs to be in a cast for a while. I've set the rib back in place, but he's going to be unable to move for a while. He went into shock shortly before our journey back here, which showed there was internal bleeding; luckily it wasn't too bad, so there was enough time to get back here and stop it. I ran his blood-work as soon as we got here, which luckily showed no signs of any toxins from crush syndrome. I'm currently running fluids and antibiotics through him, as well as a blood transfusion."

"What happened in surgery?" John asked.

"He started loosing blood very fast when I moved the rib, which seemed to be plugging a large bleed. But we got it sorted quick enough; all we can do now is wait," answered Jen.

"Ok, keep me updated on the boy's condition. Major Lorne, when you and your team are cleared after you've had your post mission checks, I want to hear the full story. Let's say 0800 tomorrow?" said Colonel Carter.

"Yes Ma'am!" replied Evan Lorne.

Colonel Carter nodded her goodbyes then turned and left the room, closely followed by Major Lorne and his team. Colonel Sheppard, however, hung back, letting the rest of his team leave also.

"Is there something I can do for you Colonel?" Jen asked hesitantly.

"No…well I just wanted to say, you did good." He said, and then with a small smile he left.

Jennifer sighed and put her head in her hands. She was safe, she was home and the boy pulled through surgery. Jen could feel the tug of her heart strings when she thought of the boy. Deciding to get on with her report on the incident on the planet, she loaded up her laptop and began typing. Every fifteen minutes Marie would give her updates on the boys condition, which for the moment, remained unchanged.

When she finished her report, Atlantis was surrounded in darkness. She left her office to see only the night staff in the infirmary. She walked to the boy's bed and checked over his vitals before sitting in the chair next to the bed.

As Jennifer studied the boy, she tried to understand why he could have been left alone on that planet. She tried to keep a level of professional detachment when treating her patients, but there was something about this boy that was pulling her towards him.

She was still thinking this as she laid her head on her arms on top of the bed and let her exhaustion consume her.

From outside the infirmary Ronon watched Jen's emotions flicker across her face as she looked at the young boy. He could see how she already cared for the boy, but he also knew that she had taken it hard on the planet; her caring nature made it difficult for her to sit back and not be able to do anything.

He watched as her eyes grew sleepy, and she leaned her head on her arms and fell asleep resting against the boy's bed.

He walked back to his quarters, content at knowing that she was safe.

Jennifer woke with a start; the light in the room signalled that is was very early in the morning with the sun only just rising. She looked around her and felt herself jump a little when she saw Ronon standing in the doorway with an unreadable expression on face.

Jen felt butterflies flutter in her stomach at the way he was just looking at her, saying nothing.

After a moment he stepped into the room. "How is he?" he asked, shifting his eyes from Jen to the boy in the bed.

"Stable. It's just a waiting game now. As soon as his body has healed well enough, he'll wake up."

Ronon nodded and watched as Jennifer turned to look at the boy again.

He walked over to her and sat in the seat next to her. "You did everything you could, and he's going to be ok. When he wakes up we'll find his family and take him back to them, ok?"

She looked at him the worry clear in her eyes. "I know. This shouldn't be getting to me so much, I'm trained to do this. It's not supposed to get to me like this…" She cut herself off, not daring to continue in case she lost control.

Ronon reached an arm around her, saying "This is different than your galaxy. There are different rules and situations here. It's natural."

Jen smiled slightly as she let herself relax into his arms.

Within minutes Jennifer was sound asleep. Ronon didn't move, just stayed holding her, letting her rest.

An hour later Teyla appeared at the door. She whispered, "I'm on my way to the mess. Would you like me to pick you both something up?" Ronon glanced down at Jennifer's sleeping form and nodded his head.

Teyla returned a little later with a tray loaded with food, which she left in room. She gave Ronon one of her knowing smiles before leaving.

Jennifer groaned as she woke up, her neck stiff from sleeping at a strange angle. Sitting up, she got a good look at her pillow—Ronon. He was looking down at her with an amused face.

Smoothing her ruffled hair down, she remembered how she fell asleep on him. "I'm sorry, Ronon. You didn't need to hear all that moaning from me and then have me fall asleep on you."

"I didn't mind. Breakfast?" he said with a grin as he offered her a tray of food.

"Thanks, but I need to get to work," Jennifer said with a quick glance at her watch.

His face lost its grin. "You need to eat first."

Seeing that he meant for her to eat something, Jennifer grabbed a muffin form the tray and began eating it. Once finished she went around checking over the boy's vitals before heading into her office.

A few hours later Sheppard walked into the infirmary. Ronon was still sitting at the boy's bedside, and Jen was still in her office. "Ronon, how's he doing?" Sheppard enquired.

"Same," was Ronon's gruff response.

"Colonel?" came Doctor Keller's voice from her office.

Sheppard walked in to her office, "Yeah, Doc?"

"I have put in a request to Colonel Carter about off world first aid kits and what jumpers carry. I'm having a meeting with her later today. Could you speak to her about it and maybe put in a good word for me?" she asked.

"Er, sure. What are the changes?" he asked hesitantly.

"Here, take a look," she said handing him a file full of papers.

John backed out of her office and headed over to Ronon. "Is she ok?" he asked somewhat nervously.

Ronon's face grew concerned. "I don't know if she is handling this well," he admitted.

John nodded and opened the folder. "Whoa!" he said as he started reading. "She wants us to start carrying round half the infirmary, and she wants us to be better trained in first aid. Ronon, keep an eye on her. I think she might be feeling guilty that she couldn't help the boy more, even though he is here and still alive, thanks to her."

Ronon nodded, worry increasing in the pit of his stomach.

A/N: So another chapter, I tried to get more R/K stuff here. I hoped you all liked it! Let me know with your reviews please! thanks for reading! And not forgetting a big thanks to Renisanz my fantastic beta! Now please review!


	6. Chapter 6

After knocking on Colonel carters office door she entered the room, smiling at the blonde haired colonel who sat at her desk

After knocking on Colonel Samantha Carter's office door she entered the room, smiling at the blonde haired woman sitting behind the desk. Jennifer just sat down, not waiting for the Colonel to offer her a seat.

"Jennifer! How's our young patient doing?" Sam asked.

"He's still in a coma…Ronon's sitting with him while I'm here." She said briskly, putting end to any other comments about him with her bluntness. "The fact is, he should never have gotten as bad as he is…that's why I've decided some changes need to be made. Currently, Atlantis personnel have basic knowledge of emergency first aid and carry basic first aid kits off world. But as this situation proved, they are not good enough. All Atlantis personnel need to be better trained and need to be able deal with more serious injuries. This here is a basic outline of my plan, and I can give you a full one, with ways to implement and timescale by lunch tomorrow."

Sam sat back in her chair, shocked at what she had just heard. Jennifer Keller the quiet little doctor, she already had enough time to plan this, and she'd only gotten back yesterday.

"Are you sure all this is necessary Jennifer, the military are trained to a very high standard as it is." Sam said, sighing inwardly.

"I know that Colonel, but what I'm saying is this shouldn't have happened. We need to make changes. All the information you need for now is in that folder. I'll leave you to read it and give you the full implementation plan tomorrow," said Jen.

"There's really no need to get it done so quickly Jennifer. I know you're very busy…" Sam stopped speaking as she realized she was now talking to an empty room.

"That was weird." Sam murmured to herself.

Ronon swallowed a growl of frustration, Jennifer had locked herself straight back in her office when she came back from her meeting with Colonel Carter, insisting she was busy. Then only came out was to check on the young boy.

He knew there was something wrong; she never normally acted like this. He decided that if she spent much longer in there he would drag her out kicking and screaming if he had to.

"Ronon?"

Ronon turned to face the door, where Colonel Carter was standing, wearing a similar worried expression to Ronon and holding a file in her hands. Sam cast a glance towards Jennifer's office before stepping towards Ronon.

"I need to talk to you about Jennifer," she said gently.

Ronon nodded, letting Sam continue. "I know you two are…good…friends…and well, it's just that she came to see me a little while ago and gave me this," she said indicating to the folder in her hands. "She was acting unusually upset about what happened on the planet and well I was just wondering if you knew why?"

"No I don't, but I've noticed it, too. I'm gonna stay and keep an eye on her." Ronon said.

"That's a good idea. If you need anything let me know," Sam said before looking at the boy laid in the bed. "Have there been any changes in his condition?" she asked.

Ronon shook his head and stood up, "I'm going to go get her out of that office for a bit."

Sam nodded and left the room greeting Major Lorne as he entered the infirmary.

"Is she still in there?" asked the major when he saw Ronon. Evan Lorne and the rest of his team had been popping in and out when they could. Ronon looked back to Jennifer's office and nodded. "I was going to drag her out."

"You go then. I'll sit with the boy while you're gone," the Major said, sitting himself in Ronon's vacated seat.

Ronon strode into Jennifer's office, not bothering to knock on the door. She looked up at him and said "Ronon, I'm a little busy right now. I'm sure someone else can stitch up whatever injury you have now." With that she got back on with her work.

Ronon reached down and picked up her laptop that she was using and closed it. Holding it in his hands, he stared down her complaints.

"There is something wrong that you are not telling me that has to do with that boy out there. I think you should tell me what it is that's bothering you." He said.

"Its nothing really," she said.

But when Ronon gave her a disbelieving look she crumbled. "Ok, fine. It's just . . . I don't like to feel so helpless. I'm a doctor, and it shouldn't be like this again."

Ronon's ears pricked up at the last part. "Again?" he asked.

He watched as her face blanched. She stood up and headed for the door, "Not here. Let's go for a walk."

Jen led the way out of the infirmary. It had been a long time since she had thought about that incident and she didn't want to now, but recent events had changed that. It weighed down heavily on her again, and she hated that feeling of knowing that things where beyond her control and all she could do was sit back and watch.

They headed to a deserted section of the city and found a balcony. Jen leaned heavily on the railing, enjoying the breeze on her face. But she could feel Ronon's eyes probing her, looking for answers to his questions, answers only she could give him.

Taking a deep breath Jen began,

"I was nine when it happened. Me and my best friend where playing outside her house. She ran out . . . she ran out into the road. There was a car. It hit her. She screamed and the car slammed on its brakes, but it was too late. I saw it all happen. It wasn't anyone's fault; it was just an accident. Her mom came running out of the house screaming when she saw her daughter laid on the street in a bloody mess. They called an ambulance and she was taken away. She died later that night. I'd known her all my life."

Jen paused and took a calming breath, gaining back what little control she had left.

"When it happened I felt useless. There was nothing I could do."

She looked at the floor, almost in shame. Ronon laid a comforting hand on her arm and after a while she continued.

"I couldn't help even though I wished so much that I could. It changed me. From that day I vowed never to feel so useless again. I read everything I could on first aid and researched everything about medicine. Doing this was my goal. But the thing is, I knew all this and still struggled to keep that boy alive. I felt so helpless and I shouldn't have. "

Jen stopped speaking with tears in her eyes, and Ronon hugged her. "You did brilliantly. That boy is still alive, thanks to you. Don't you ever forget that."

Ronon looked down at the young woman in his arms, she was so brave, so strong, and she didn't even realize it. Her face was full of innocence and beauty but she never looked weak. Not to him.

A/N: Sorry for the delay with this I've been busy. I hope you all liked it, I would love it if you all let me know your thoughts on it, and thanks so much for reading it! Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Four weeks later

It had been a month since Ronon had stood holding a distraught Jen in his arms. The days had passed in a flurry of activity for him. A long string of missions followed by keeping his eye on Jennifer had taken all his available free time—which, frankly, wasn't much.

One week after that conversation where he'd learnt more about Jennifer than anyone else on Atlantis, he realised he needed help. So he had enlisted Marie Ko, head nurse and a close friend of Jennifer. So while he was away on missions he didn't have to wonder whether Jennifer had remembered to eat or get some sleep. Marie had been more than happy to keep an eye on her. "I'll look after her. You just remember to come back," she said, with a wink. That had ended Ronon's conversation with her, leaving him more than a little confused, about the wink. Did everyone know how much he cared for Jennifer?

Ronon now stood in Jen's office looking down at her sleeping form. Her head sat in her folded arms on the desk, her laptop in front of her and still turned on. He had just arrived back from four days of long negotiations and had come to see how both Jen and the boy were doing. Acknowledging Marie with a brief nod, he kept his eyes focused on Jennifer the entire time.

"She's ok, just working too hard as always. I made sure she's been eating and getting some sleep. She seems much happier, especially now that the boy is doing well. She missed you though," said Marie quietly, before she went back to work.

Silently, Ronon crept into the office, and he noticed paperwork was also spread all over the desk. Jennifer was sleeping peacefully, her lips curved into a small smile. Deciding that he should just leave her to get the rest she obviously needed, he started heading back toward the door. He'd just reached the doorway, however, when a soft curse came from behind. Turning around, he saw that Jennifer was just waking up. She gave a big grin when she noticed him.

"You're back! When?" exclaimed Jennifer.

"Just now. I, err, just to came to see how you and the boy were doing," he said, smiling slightly back at her.

"I'm fine," Jennifer said, then added, "Honestly!" at his scathing look. "The young boy is showing remarkable improvement. Most of his injuries have already healed or are well on the way to being. He's also starting to show signs of waking up. So things are looking good."

"That's really good…"

"DOCTOR!" Marie yelled as hurled herself through the open office door. "Doctor!" She said, "He's awake but he's terrified and won't let anyone near him. We're scared he's going to hurt himself."

Jennifer raced out of the room, Ronon hot on her heels and Marie not far behind.

When they reached the boy's private room, two nurses where stood in the doorway while another attempted to calm the boy from a position within the room. The boy had pressed himself into a corner of the room. Tears were streaming down his face, and there was blood coming from his hand, where his IV had either come out or been ripped out.

Jennifer entered the room slowly indicating for the other nurses to go out of the way. As Jennifer moved slowly into the room Ronon followed a few feet behind. Jennifer stopped a few feet away from the terrified child and dropped to her knees.

"Hey there, my name's Jen. Do you remember me?"

The boy turned his wide, frightened eyes on her; he looked at her for a while before slowly nodding. Jennifer saw his eyes dart to Ronon behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Ronon step forward. Carefully he moved so that he was just in front of Jennifer, he knelt down and began speaking in a low voice,

"Hey, remember what I said to you." When the boy nodded again Ronon continued. "Well you can trust Jen. She's gonna help you and so am I."

The boy began moving out of the corner; hesitantly Jen stepped forward and helped him onto the bed.

Jen Gently, Jen took the boy hand and looked inspected the area where the IV had dislodged and gave the nearby nurses orders to get the supplies she would need. But, as soon as they entered the room the boy again became terrified, so Ronon took the supplies out of the nurse's hands and dismissed them.

_Two hours later_

Jen watched as Ronon sat with the boy who was just going back to sleep. She couldn't believe how strong the boy had been when he woke up; he seemed ok apart from a few cuts that hadn't quite healed. But the broken leg, the chest injury had completely healed and he didn't feel any pain. This boy, even though human, was a fast healer. Much like Ronon.

She smiled when Ronon looked her way; the boy had only let her and Ronon near him, despite assurances that the others weren't going to hurt him. One thing that was bothering Jen was that he hadn't spoken, not even to give his name.

Ronon was a natural with him, and even though the conversation was mainly one sided they were bonding well. Ronon had explained to the boy that they where in the city of the Ancestors, to which the boy gave a look of awe. When Ronon questioned the boy about where he came from, and asked where his parents where, the young boy with his bright green eyes and messy dark brown hair, looked sad. Carefully Ronon had tried to get him to answer but the boy soon became upset so Ronon abandoned it, and soothed the distraught boy. While both Ronon and Jen had sat there with the boy holding his hands telling him he would be safe, Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne had entered the room.

The young boy was terrified and clung to Ronon, who shot glares at both of them; Jennifer had stood up though ordered them out of the room. Jen following them out the room she shut the door behind her.

"Gossip spreads in this place like wildfire doesn't it. Who told you the boy was awake because I certainly didn't?" she asked unable to keep the anger out of her voice.

"Err actually quite a few people did, everyone knows." Said Major Lorne, who had the brains to look worried under her glare.

Jennifer made a mental note to have words with her staff about keeping their mouths shut when it comes to gossiping.

"Right, there is to be no visiting the boy do you understand? He is terrified, and only seems to stay calm with me and Ronon so if I see even one of you within ten feet of this door, you will regret it at your next physical." Said Jen, in her perfected bossy doctor voice.

"Yes Doc. Sorry Doc." Said Major Lorne.

"Suck up." Muttered Sheppard under his breath.

After being assured the boy was doing well and posed to no security threat, they had left, with the promise of stopping any other hopeful visitors. That had been half an hour ago and Ronon was still in there with the boy.

Jen turned back to watch Ronon and the boy who was huddled into Ronon's chest, fast asleep.

"Who'd have thought it?" she said out loud, causing a passing nurse to raise her eyebrows at her.

Sighing to herself, Jen turned away from the scene in front of her and left to go brief Colonel Carter on the status of the boy.

A/N: Ok sorry for the long wait! Hope you enjoyed and review as always please! Thanks to Renisanz for betaing and a huge thank you to everyone who has already reviewed!

I have a goal of reaching 100 reviews with this story, its you lot that can make it happen!

Thanks again!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"How are you feeling today young man? How about we go for a little walk?" Jen asked the boy in a cheery voice. She hated that she still had to refer to him as 'the boy,' but his unwillingness to speak was beginning to become a big issue and was really worrying both her and Ronon.

Dr. Barker, Atlantis's new resident psychologist, had gone over all the security tapes from the boy's room and suggested that his silence was probably due to some major traumatic event in his life, possibly his accident or even events leading up to his accident—which were still unknown—and apparently the boy could begin speaking again very quickly once he took the first step and said something.

Medically speaking the boy was fine. He had suffered virtually zero muscle deterioration, and he was already walking without aid and was suffering no residual pain from any of his injuries only a week after waking up from his coma.

Jennifer smiled down at the young at the boy as he gave an enthusiastic nod. "What about we get you into some clothes then?" Jen said while holding up a black T-shirt and a pair of jeans that she had gotten the Daedalus to bring back from Earth for him, as well as some trainers that someone had thought to get.

Jen was leading the boy out of the door ten minutes later, but he stopped in the doorway and peered at her through nervous eyes. When he opened his mouth Jen knelt down to his level waiting to see if he would speak, "R...R...Ron...Ronon," he managed to say.

"Ronon? Do you want him?" Jen asked trying to keep a lid on her enthusiasm.

"Not go. Want Ronon too." He said his voice stronger now.

"Ok, you go sit on your bed for a minute. I'll get Ronon," Jen said.

Once outside the boy's room, Jen reached for her radio, "Control room this is Dr. Keller. Come in, please."

"Doctor Keller, this is the control room. What can we do for you?" a vaguely familiar voice answered.

"Is Colonel Sheppard and his team still with Colonel Carter debriefing?"

"Yeah they are. Is there an emergency?"

"No!" she said hurriedly, "Could you patch me through to Colonel Carter please?"

"Yeah ok, hold on." The technician said.

Ronon was bored.

The mission had been boring and the debriefing was proving the same. There had been nothing but sand on the planet, but McKay's mysterious 'energy' reading had prompted them 

to search further. After six hours of searching and finding nothing, Ronon had grown irritated and almost shot Rodney when he realised that this anomalous energy reading was actually coming from a ancient device he had with him in his backpack. On the long trek back to the jumper Rodney had been oddly silent, taking Sheppard's berating without so much as a complaint.

"So, you found absolutely nothing of value on this planet?" Colonel Carter asked, after Sheppard had explained the events of the mission to her.

"Not unless you count sand," quipped Sheppard.

Colonel Carter held up a hand to pause any other comments while she reached for her radio, "Go ahead."

"Understood. We're pretty much done here anyway. I'll send him over to you . . . Carter out."

Ending her conversation Sam turned back to the group, who were all looking at her expectantly.

"Ronon, Doctor Keller needs you in the infirmary. So could you make your way to her please." Sam hadn't even finished speaking when Ronon was leaving the room. Curiosity and worry rolled through him in alternating waves, as he made his way quickly to the infirmary.

It eased slightly when he got there and Jen could be seen sitting with the boy, who was now wearing earth clothes. Without knocking Ronon entered the room. "Is everything ok?" he asked.

Jen was about to answer when the boy jumped up and rushed to Ronon and wrapped himself around Ronon's legs. Ronon tensed and stood for a moment looking uncomfortable, before he reached down and picked up the small boy. "Jen said we could go for a walk, but I wanted you there as well," the boy said now, sounding much more confident.

Ronon shot Jen a shocked glance before looking at the boy again. "Well, we could go for a walk, but it's not fair that you know our names and we don't know yours. Why don't you tell us, then we can go for a walk?"

"Ok. Finan Keltin. But, you can call me Finn." He said.

"So Finn, how old are you?" Jen asked carefully.

"I'm six but my momma always told me I was big for my age. She said she was proud of how tall and strong I am already . . ." Finn faltered, tears filled his eyes. "I miss my momma," he said quietly.

Ronon gently pulled him closer, and Jen stepped forward putting a comforting hand on Finn's shoulder. "How about you tell us what happened? About where your home and momma are?" Jen said quietly.

The three of them sat on the bed together; Jen and Ronon sat next to each other with their backs to the wall with Finn sat snuggled between them.

"I was out playing with my friends when the ring of the Ancestors came to life. Out of it came these flying things. I knew what they where straight away; they where the wraith. I ran home to my momma and father and we ran for the hideout. But we couldn't get there. The wraith where everywhere so we hid in the forest. The screams lasted all night, but by morning it was really quiet. So we went to the ring of ancestors, and father dialled the address of a place we have traded with . . . we were just about to walk through when the wraith appeared. Momma and father stood in front of me and they . . . fell . . . I shouted to them but they didn't answer me. So I ran. I ran through the ring. When I got to the new place the ground started shaking and the mountain fell on top of me."

By the time the boy had finished speaking tears were flowing freely down Jen's face. Finn looked at her, "Momma told me that one day the wraith would come, and she said that she and father would make sure I was safe, but that they might not be able to come with me. She said I would have to find a new Momma and Father."

"Finn, will you sit here for a little while and when we come back we can go for that walk, ok?" said Jen quietly

Finn nodded, and Ronon and Jennifer left the room. In Jen's office they met Dr. Mark Barker, who had been watching the entire conversation via a live feed. Jen was still struggling to pull herself together when Colonel Carter and Colonel Sheppard arrived.

Dr. Barker quickly briefed the Colonels on what had happened and then launched into his thoughts of it. "The boy- Finan seems to be coming to terms with what has happened remarkably quickly for a child so young.

"When you live with the knowledge the wraith could come at anytime you do not have time to waste with things like this. It's sad but true. You have to get over loss quickly or you'll be consumed by it. It's a thing that all of us as children have drummed into us at a very early age," Ronon stated as-matter-of-factly.

"Well, we need to find out where his world is and establish if there any survivors left," John said and Carter nodded.

"Can you find out the gate address for his home world?" Sam asked Jen and Ronon.

They nodded and Jen said, "We promised to take him for a walk around the city, so we'll ask after that."

When everyone had left the room but Ronon and Jennifer, Ronon turned to her. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. It's just this poor boy saw his parents killed right in front of him, and everyone he ever knew may be dead. He is so alone," she said.

"Then he's in the best place, trust me." He said. Jen looked into Ronon's eyes and found that she did, trust him, completely.

"I'm glad you're here because you're the best qualified to understand what he's going through. Now shall we go and take him for that walk?"

Ronon nodded and led the way out of the room.

Finan was excited for his walk around the city of Atlantis and was eager to get out of the door of his room. Ronon stopped him with a hand on his shoulder though, before he got out of the door. Turning Finn around he knelt down to the boys level, "Now out there is a city full of people, they are like me and Jen, they won't hurt you so don't worry ok? We'll always be here to protect you."

"Ok," Finn nodded.

The walk was uneventful; Finn was very quiet at first, clutching Ronon and Jen's hands tightly and moving closer to them when passing people in corridors. But the further into their walk they got the more Finn came out of his shell and when they ran into Major Lorne in his team, Finn even managed not to hide between Ronon and Jen. Evan Lorne knelt down in front of Finn, "How you doing there, kiddo?" he asked.

Finn gave him a small smile and said, "I'm ok."

Jen knelt down and said to Finn, "This is Evan. He was one of the ones who helped rescue you, and the people behind him are his team, and they helped as well. Do you think you could say 'thank you' to them?"

Finn smiled and dutifully said, "Thank you Evan and his team for rescuing me!"

A chorus of 'your welcomes' and 'no problems' filled the corridor.

A little further into the walk Finn yanked on Jen and Ronon's hands and said, "I'm hungry!"

Ronon grinned and said, "Let's go see what we can do about that?" and led the way to the mess hall.

When they arrived the mess hall was about half full with the dinner rush. But Finn did not seem bothered when he saw all the food lined up.

Jen and Ronon helped Finn gather what he wanted to eat as well as filling their own trays. When food had been gathered they headed to a table by the window so Finn could see the view. Finn chatted all the way through their meal asking all sorts of questions telling them about what his home had been like. In a lull in conversation Jen decided to ask if Finn knew the address of his home world. When Finn nodded Jen borrowed a tablet computer from a nearby group of scientists and asked him to show her. With the address secured, she gave the tablet back to the scientist and told him to get it Sheppard straight away.

Ronon carried an exhausted Finn back to the infirmary and got him into bed. As he and Jennifer said goodnight to Finn, he asked, "Can I stay here forever with you?"

To which Jen answered, unsure."We'll see."

When Finn was fast asleep, Ronon walked Jen back to her quarters. When they reached Jen's door she smiled at him and said, "Guess this is my stop. You know you really did good with 

Finn today. I never knew you had it in you. You're not this scary caveman that McKay says you are."

"You did well too. See you tomorrow," said Ronon leaning in and giving her a brief kiss on the lips, before walking away.

Jen stared after him a hand on her lips that were curved into a smile.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you liked, i really like this chapter! As always please leave a review they are greatly appreciated! Thanks also goes to Renisansz for betaing!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The next morning Colonel Sheppard and his team left to check out Finan's home world. Jen thought it was best not to tell Finan so she told the boy that Ronon was busy and would be around later when he asked to see him.

Finn was beginning to grow bored of the infirmary and was still too nervous around other people to be alone with anyone other than Jen and Ronon. Luckily, that morning Evan Lorne had dropped in and brought some art supplies so that Finn could colour. That meant that Jen could get some paperwork done. Jen had, however, promised to take Finan to the mess hall for lunch.

Sighing, Jen finished on her computer and stood up stretching her back. Glancing at her watch Jen gave a small smile. _Time for lunch_, she thought.

Ronon stepped out of the wormhole to a scene of utter devastation, just as the M.A.L.P had predicted. Remnants of a once fully functioning village were scattered all around. What had once been people's homes and possessions lay on the ground, some burnt others just destroyed.

A few small fires still lingered in the distance; the only thing missing was the people. Two bodies lay at the foot of the gate, one a man, the other a woman. Cold fury filled Ronon as bent down to get a closer look—Finan's parents killed right before his eyes.

A renewed hatred for the Wraith filled Ronon, and with a low growl he stalked away from the gate, hoping that a few wraith remained on the planet.

Colonel John Sheppard sighed and looked at the grim scene around them. He aimed a questioning look at Teyla, who instantly knew what John was asking. She shook her head in response; she could sense no Wraith in the area. He then turned to look at Rodney who held a life signs detector. He also shook his head, a grimace clear on his face. _This was going to be a bad day,_thought John sadly, and then he began following Ronon who was by this time a figure in the distance.

"Finn! You wanna go get some lunch now?" Jennifer asked as she entered his room. Finn was sitting at a small table that had been brought into the room for him to colour and draw on. He was bent over scribbling away on a piece of paper.

"Finn?" Jen questioned.

Finan looked up from his drawing a proud smile on his face. He walked over to Jen and showed her what he had done. The picture was of a little stick figure boy stood in between a very tall man stick figure with big streaks of dark hair, and a smaller woman stick figure, with yellow hair. All three were holding hands and had big grins on their faces.

Pointing to his picture Finn said that it was a picture of his new parents and him, the parents being Ronon and Jennifer.

"You know, Finn, we don't know if we can be your parents yet. Things haven't been sorted yet, ok?"

Finn nodded grimly at this, pulling at all of Jens heart strings. "How about lunch?" she suggested as a distraction from his disappointment.

Finn walked next to Jennifer holding her hand all the way to the mess hall. His grip on her hand was firm, but not that crushing type he had when they had first taken him out of the infirmary. Jen couldn't help herself, she grinned. Things where definitely looking up.

Ronon stomped across the terrain. Anger bubbling through him like red hot lava. For three hours he had searched for life, for survivors or Wraith. Nothing but burnt homes and possessions littered the ground. If anyone had survived this they where long gone now. The only bodies to be found where Finan's parents who lay where they were brutally murdered.

Reaching the gate Ronon bent down to look at the corpses, making a promise to care for their son. He stood as Sheppard and the rest of the team caught up with him. "We need to bury them," was all Ronon said.

Sheppard nodded and got to work with the rest of his team. Not even McKay complained as they worked in silence.

Back in Atlantis, Jennifer was still smiling as she watched Finn play with Lorne and his team in the mess hall. The young boy was finally becoming comfortable with other people.

Finn was listening intently to Evan as he told stories of the Wraith being defeated, with the rest of Lorne's team adding their own opinions and comments along the way. Jen could understand what they were doing. They were giving a young boy, who had lost everything to the Wraith, hope. They were showing him that they could be defeated and that all was not lost. This made Jen smile. Their idea was brilliant, and they were already helping a lost little boy find his way again. Jen just hoped that when the decision about Finan's future had to be made, the right one would be decided.

After the fun at lunch, Finan was very excited. Constantly telling Jennifer that when he grew up he was going to fight the Wraith like Evan and Ronon. Jen had smiled at this and in her best mothering voice said, "We'll see."

Atlantis's elite team stepped through the gate covered in mud and grim-faced. Colonel Sam Carter stood waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. Sam frowned a little as she took in the appearance of the team.

Sheppard stepped forward, "There's no one left. We found the bodies of Finan's parents at the gate where he said they were. We buried them."

Sam nodded, "We'll debrief in an hour, where we will also discuss Finan's future."

Sheppard nodded and led his team out of the gate room.

An excited squeal from Finn's room tore Jennifer's gaze from her computer. Ronon stood holding Finn in his arms, who was avidly chatting away to Ronon. Jen left her office and joined them both. Ronon grinned at Jennifer before putting a protesting Finn down and briefly hugging Jennifer.

"There's a briefing now. You need to be there." Ronon said gruffly, a hint of shyness to his voice.

"Ok. I'll get Marie to watch Finn. Is that ok with you, sweetie?" she asked Finn.

Finn pulled a face but agreed.

Ronon bent down to Finn's level and said, "I'll be back as soon as I can kiddo."

Jen and Ronon left the infirmary, and headed towards the briefing room.

Just outside the door Ronon grabbed Jennifer's hand, pulling her back. Leaning close to her he whispered quietly in her ear, "We need to talk later." So as not to make her worry he pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

Jen's mind raced with the possibilities of what that could mean, as she entered the room behind Ronon.

A/N: Hey long wait I know, I'm sorry for that. But starting uni kind of over took everything. Hope you liked, leave a review and thanks for reading.

Also a big thank you to Renisansz!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Ok, so we all know why we're here," Colonel Samantha said as a way of beginning the meeting.

Rodney grunted from his place in between Evan Lorne and Teyla Emmagan. "To decide the...err boy...err Freddie, no Frank...Err," he spluttered as he struggled to remember the boys name, earning himself glares from all those around the table apart from Teyla who rolled her eyes and offered, "Perhaps the name you are searching for is Finan?"

"Finan yes, yes of course. Sorry, Sam you were saying?" he said under his colouring cheeks.

"Thank you, Rodney. Now, we're here to discuss Finn's future. In my opinion, Atlantis is not the place for children. I believe that he should go to another world that understands as he does the threat of the wraith and the loss they cause. Jennifer what do you think?"

Looking around her Jen could see the faces of everyone in the room looking in her direction. She was sat in between Teyla and Ronon and had not been concentrating on what Sam had been saying. Instead her mind was on the 'we need to talk' and the feeling of dread it was giving her.

"Oh sorry!" Jennifer said, blushing slightly. "I think he needs to be with children his own age and people from his own galaxy. As much I want him to stay, it would be unfair to let him," She said in a rush before she could change her mind. She knew it was going to come to this even though she didn't want it to. She was already imagining the awful scene of when they told Finn he couldn't stay. Tears threatened to fall. _Why am I being like this. I know he can't stay I always did. I'm a professional; I'm not supposed to get so emotionally involved._

The rest of the meeting went by in a fog for Jennifer, the next thing she knew Colonel was summing up the meeting.

"Ok, so Lorne I want you and your team to go to Lindow, and discuss the possibility of Finn staying with them. We trade with them regularly and have built up a good relationship with them, so I can't see it being too much of a problem. Can you have your team ready within the hour major?" Carter asked.

Lorne nodded.

As the meeting drew to a close and Sam dismissed everyone, Jennifer remained in her seat watching McKay rush off to finish some important experiment. Sheppard and Lorne where discussing their bets on the new recruits, both arguing their sides passionately, before Lorne excused himself to prepare for the mission.

Sam and Teyla were also in deep discussion about some off world aid. That left Ronon, who had also not moved from his seat but had turned and was now facing Jen, his eyes studying her closely. He could tell she was struggling to keep control. He also knew that no how much she didn't want Finan to leave, she would do what was best for him, even if that meant letting him go.

"Are you ok?" Ronon asked Jen in attempt to drag her out of her daze.

Jen turned to face him and smiled, "Yeah I'm just thinking. You know I don't know whether to say anything to Finn now or wait till we know if they'll take him. I mean, do we tell him that he can't stay, that we're finding him somewhere else to go, or tell him when we know where he is going?"

Ronon sighed. He understood where she was coming from, but he also knew that the conversation was going to be difficult no matter when they had it. "I think we tell him now and let him get used to the idea."

Jen looked at Ronon and stared into his unreadable eyes. Smiling, she said, "Yeah, I think you're right...ok, let's get this over with."

Jen stood up and Ronon followed her, walking just to her side and behind her. About halfway to the infirmary Jen stopped and turned with a frown on her face and looked up at Ronon.

"What's with the bodyguard thing?" she asked. When Ronon gave her a blank stare she explained, "the walking behind me on one side? Look walk next to me, ok?"

Ronon grinned at her and nodded, falling into step with her as they walked the rest of the way.

They were a few metres from the infirmary when Ronon grabbed Jen's arm, stopping her and pulling her to face him. He looked to the floor for a moment and then looked into her face. "This is going to be hard. But we will do this, together. Ok?"

Jen nodded and smiled. Ronon leant forward and gave the Doctor a brief but passionate kiss on the lips.

Jen pulled away, breathless from the kiss and after taking a moment to compose themselves, they both headed into the infirmary to see Marie and a few other nurses watching with surprised faces.

Jen blushed, saying nothing as she led the way into Finn's room.

Finn was sat colouring when they entered, but upon seeing them he leapt up and hugged them in turn.

Ronon picked Finn up and sat on the edge of the bed and set him on his knee and Jen sat next to them.

Finn was chatting happily to Ronon telling about his drawings and Major Lorne and his team.

Jen let him talk for a while, but she knew the longer she waited the harder it was going to be to stop him. "Finn...There's something we need to tell you," Jen said, trying to keep her voice light.

But it took Finn only one look at her face to realise something was wrong. He stopped talking and looked between the adults. "You're not gonna be my parents are you?" said Finn sadly.

Jen shook her head, trying to find the words to comfort and explain to him. She was saved, however, by Ronon.

"No, we're not. But you're going to stay with a family, on planet like yours. There will be kids your age for you to play with. We'll come visit you as well." Ronon said.

Finan said nothing for a while, and then he quietly said, "Ok, I'll go."

Both Ronon and Jennifer looked at each other, surprise registering on their faces.

They stayed with Finan for a few hours before they were called to the control room. Major Lorne's team had arrived back, bringing the news that the village elders on the planet had agreed to take care of Finn.

The decision was made that in the morning he would go to his new home.

Jen and Ronon headed back to the infirmary to tell Finn.

Ronon could see that Jen was still upset, and so was he. This boy, no matter how short the amount of time spent with, had softened Ronon up. Also Finn had brought things into perspective. There was always hope, no matter what the Wraith did. As long as there was hope there would be survivors.

Reaching his arm around Jen and wrapping it around her shoulders he offered the only comfort he could give her for now.

Jen smiled up to him, but she had lost the shine behind her eyes.

As they arrived at the infirmary they met with a panicked nurse, "He's gone. I went to check on him, and he was gone."

No more needed to be said as Ronon and Jen ran to Finn's room. They had to see for themselves.

It was empty.

A/N:Thanks for reading, please review!!! I hope you don't mind the cliff hanger I will update again asap! Also thanks to Renisanz for betaing!!!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Immediately Ronon reached for his radio, informing Sheppard of the situation.

Jen, however, strode over to her staff, demanding an explanation for how Finan could have snuck past them. She could feel anger bubbling away alongside the fear for his safety. None of her staff had noticed him disappear. Now furious, she watched Sheppard and Lorne enter the infirmary and Ronon speak to them. Worry was burning a hole through Jen's anger rapidly, as Ronon approached; he saw the worry on her face and gave her hug, not caring who saw.

Minutes later a full scale search had been launched. Teams had spread out throughout the city and several city wide announcements made, ensuring everyone was looking and that Finan knew he was not in trouble, but urging to make himself known.

Ronon and Jen formed one team and began searching the areas they knew Finn had visited. Neither spoke as they wandered through the hallways, eyes darting around, hoping to snatch a glimpse of Finn.

Time was lost to both, and when the radio crackled to life they both turned to face each other with hopeful eyes.

"Jennifer, it's Rodney. There's a single life sign on the pier two hundred metres in front of you."

Ronon ran off, Jen on his heels. "We're heading there now," she practically yelled through the radio, pushing herself to keep up with Ronon.

Ronon knew Jen was behind him but at that moment all he wanted was to get Finn and make sure he was ok. Ahead of him the figure of Finan could be seen, he was sat at the end of the pier staring off into space not seeming to have noticed Ronon or Jen heading towards him. Slowing, so as not to startle him, Ronon called out, "Finn?"

The young boy scrambled to stand up and turned to face Ronon. Tears where streaming down his face. "I want my mum and dad," said Finan so quietly it was barely audible.

Jen, who had arrived behind Ronon, felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. Just as she was about to reach forward for him, Ronon beat her to it and picked the now openly sobbing boy up, talking in a low voice to him.

She allowed Ronon to console the boy while she radioed in that they had found Finan and waited at a distance to give them privacy. If Jen knew Ronon, and she hoped she did, he would appreciate a small an audience as possible.

Within minutes the boy had stopped crying, and was speaking with Ronon quite happily about his new family. It was at this point Jen could stand back no longer, so she moved forwards and enveloped the boy in a hug. When she released him, he began telling Ronon and Jennifer how much he wanted an older brother, so that he could learn from them.

The chatter continued all the way back to the infirmary. Jen knew that no matter how happy the young boy seemed now, he still had the worst to come when it finally hit him, the knowledge that he would never see his parents again. But she was happy he was going to live with people more like him, who could provide a safe place for him, or as safe as possible in this galaxy.

Later that night, after wishing Finn a good night, Jen and Ronon headed off to the mess hall, unable to face going to bed straight away. It had been a long day, but Jen knew that Ronon needed to get something off his chest. She be prepared to hear it no matter what it might be.

The mess hall was virtually empty with only a few scientists picking up coffee, preparing for a long night of work. Ronon and Jennifer both grabbed some snacks and sat at a table well away from other people. Gathering courage, Jen took a deep breath, "So you said you wanted to talk. Let's talk."

Ronon looked up from his food and stared into her eyes, his expression blank. Then he nodded slightly took a gulp of his bottled water, almost wishing it something stronger.

He began, "Remember I said that back on Sateda there was someone?"

Jen felt her stomach convulse with nerves as she answered, "Yeah, when we stuck in the quarantine."

"Well I never thought I could feel like that about anyone again, then I met this woman. She's beautiful, amazing, strong and brave. And what shocked me the most is that what I feel for her has surpassed anything I have ever felt before," Ronon said, his voice low but strained with emotion. He has to look away.

Jen opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. Instead she starts spluttering trying to string a sentence together. Ronon stops her "Shhh...don't speak, just be mine."

Hot, salty tears stung Jennifer's eyes and streamed down her face. Ronon takes her hand and their eyes meet once more. The air between them is thick with unspoken words, words that neither say but each one hears.

Jen finally manages to speak, "Kiss me." She whispers.

Their food forgotten, they leaned over the table and kissed.

In the doorway of the mess hall stood Teyla and John. Sighing, John looked at Teyla's smug smile. "How did you know tonight?" asked John, still irritated he had lost the bet and by a day.

"Because tonight they both needed comfort, and they both knew how the other felt. It has been a tough time for them recently. It was bound to happen, and besides it was just a lucky guess," Teyla replied.

Sheppard glared at her momentarily before looking back at the still passionate couple before them, "You know, that looks kind of fun. What do you say we go give it a go?" he said with a cheeky grin.

Teyla smiled, "Lead the way, Kirk," she said, earning an eyeroll from John, who made a mental note to keep her away from Rodney more.

With that Atlantis's other couple sought privacy within their quarters.

Ronon and Jen however broke the kiss with a desperate need for air. Grinning at each other they left the mess hall hand in hand unaware that they had been seen by two of their friends.

Tonight they helped each other. Tomorrow they would help a lost little boy.

A/N: there will be one more chapter (i think only one, unless i get carried away) , the epilogue. Please review let me know what you think.


	12. Chapter 12

6 months later

It had been a long day for Doctor Jennifer Keller; she had spent most of it patching up a team of Marines that had been ambushed off-world. Fours had been spent in surgery removing an arrow type weapon from the chest of one. Luckily, he had pulled through. Assisted by her medical staff, Jen had set to work checking the injuries of all the others.

It was now two in the morning, and Jen had decided to call it a night after falling asleep at her computer. As she wandered through the deserted hallways of Atlantis, her thoughts glided over the last six months.

Finan had been taken to his new home, where he had met his new family and, much to his delight, his two new older brothers. Even though Ronon and Jen promised to visit as often as they could, it still had been a heart wrenching moment when the goodbye had come; Finan had begun crying causing Jennifer to also. They may have only had him in their care for a short time, but Finan had made a big impact on Ronon and Jennifer. Jennifer still smiled about it now, how a little boy could bring two people together so easily.

Ronon and Jennifer had kept their promise, visiting whenever they both had a day off. Finan had settled in well and was always happy when they visited, especially when they had presents with them. When it came time for the visit to end there was no tears, only promises of another visit sometime soon.

Entering her quarters, Jen smiled as she saw the shape of a body laid waiting for her to arrive, even in the low light she knew he was awake watching her, she could feel it. Saying nothing she went into her bathroom and changed for bed. As she climbed into bed, Ronon turned to face her, a grin lighting his features.

Six months after that day in the mess hall, their relationship had been progressing to no end. For the last two months Jen and Ronon had been living together. It had been the talk of Atlantis for a while, with Jennifer being the envy of many of the other women, especially when it was joined with the news that Colonel Sheppard and Teyla were also together after being spotted by a group of Marines in the gym. Of course, Sheppard had ordered them to keep it quiet, but when a group of scientists passed as this was going on, all hope for that was lost. Within two hours news had spread throughout the whole base.

Jen grinned back at him and leaned forward and kissed him gently, before snuggling up to him. No words were spoken; sometimes they just weren't needed.

Even though Jennifer was worn out, she didn't fall asleep straight away. Her mind was busy worrying. She knew she would have to tell Ronon soon, but she just didn't know how. Sensing her worry, Ronon opened his eyes and looked at Jennifer, holding a soothing hand to her arm.

"There's something wrong. You've been acting strange for a few days, and you're really tense now. Don't bother telling me it's nothing or that you had a stressful day because I know you and I know you'll be lying. So tell me," he said gently but firmly.

Jen sighed and got up, she turned the light on and began to pace nervously, after a few moments Ronon grabbed her and forced her to sit next to him on the bed.

"What is it?" he asked, concern evident on his face.

Jen looked at him then down at the floor. She sighed and whispered, "I'm pregnant."

Ronon's face turned to shock then a moment erupted into a huge grin as he hugged her tightly.

"But what are we going to do? Atlantis isn't the ideal place for a child, that's why Finan left and it's gonna be a lot of work. I work a lot of hours and so do you and there really isn't anything here set up for a baby and it's not safe there's the Wraith..." All further mumbling from Jennifer was cut off by Ronon capturing her lips.

When the kiss broke Ronon took his turn to speak. "Finan did not belong here, and you and I do. Your hours can be cut and so can mine. I have already lost everything once and I'm sure as hell not gonna lose it again. So you, me and our child are gonna be together, and I promise I will keep you both safe."

Jen smiled, tears filling her eyes.

Ronon pushed Jen gently back into bed and got back in beside her. They held each other in the darkness, and before sleep could take them Jennifer said, "I'm so lucky to have you."

Ronon smirked in the darkness, "Yes Jen you're very lucky, and so am I. You are my very own lady luck."

Jen snuggled in further contemplating the many meanings of that statement, before drifting off to sleep, a smile on her face.

Very lucky, indeed.

The End.

A/N: So thats it I've finished! I know its short but i wanted a really cute ending and i hope you all agree it is.

I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed (and hopefully will do so one last time) and added this story to their alerts and even added it as their favourites!

A HUGE thank you to Renisansz for being a superb beta especially with putting up with me!!!

Hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as i have writing!!!

Sarcasmqueen66


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